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(No Model.)

S. H. SHORT. SLIDE SHOE TROLLEY.

No. 459,689. Patented Sept. 15,1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SIDNEY H. SHORT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE SHORT ELEC- TRIORAILWAY COMPANY, OF SAME PLAOE.

SLIDE-SHOE TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 459,689, datedSeptember 15, 1891.

Application filed April 15, 1890.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY H. SHORT, of Cleveland, in the county ofOuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Slide-Shoe Trolleys; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates more particularly to the trolleys or travelerswhich in electric railways move along the suspended overhead conductorsfor establishing an electrical connection between such conductors andthe motors or electro-dynamic machines on the vehide to be propelledthereby; but the improvements constituting said invention are of courseincluded for all the uses to which they or any of them may beapplicable.

In practice the sliding grooved shoe is secured by means of a socket orotherwise upon the outer end of a trolley-pole which at its inner end isflexibly connected with the car and is pressed by one or more springs.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification,Figure 1 is a side View of a trolley or traveler constructed inaccordance with the invention, and Fig. 2 is a section of the new orimproved contact or shoe.

The trolley-pole A is flexibly connected with the roof B of the car bybeing j ournaled at 2 in the bracket of plate 0, which is swiveled tothe plate D, fastened securely on the car-roof. It is pressed upward bymeans of the spiral tension-spring E, connected at one end with theplate O and at the other end With a sector 3 on the trolley-pole. Otherarrangements to flexibly connect the trolleypole with the car and tohold it by springpressure may be used. At the outer end of thetrolley-pole is the sliding grooved shoe F, secured, as shown, to thepole by means of a socket. The supply Wire or conductor G is suspendedby anyknown or suitable means and fits in the groove, and the shoe F,being pressed upward against the Wire by the spring E, makes contactwith the under side of said wire.

In order to fit the shoe the better to its use, the following featuresof construction are adopted:

Serial No. 348,031. (No model.)

First, the wings 4 are flared laterally, (see Fig. 2 second, theydiminish in width outwardly, their outer edges being curved about anaxis or axes transverse to the wire G, or, in other words, being roundedlongitudinally. (See Fig. 1.) These features of construct on favor theready application of the shoe to the conductor and also ease in running,since the shoe is not apt to bind upon the conductor under the influenceof lateral movements. In use the wings 4 project beyond the wire orsupply-conductor, as shown, the groove 1n the shoe being of considerablygreater depth than the thickness of the Wire G.

Third, the bottom 5 of the groove is arched longitudinally (see Fig. 1)more or less, and particularly at the ends, so that the shoe may rockslightly on an axis at right angles to the wire or in the direction ofthe length of the conductor. The conductor being flexible and yieldingand the road-bed itself more or less uneven, it .-is evident that theshoe F tends constantly to alter its position on the wire G, and it isdesirable, therefore, to embody in the shoe the features just stated orotherwise to adapt it to ride as evenly as possible under allvariations. The shoe is of course to be made of conducting material,such as metal. It is attached to the trolleypole, so that it forms ormay form an oblique angle therewith.

Having fully described myinventiomwhat I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A trolley comprising a spring-pressed swiveled pole and a slidinggrooved contactshoe rigidly secured to the upper end of the pole andprojecting rearwardly therefrom, said shoe being formed with a curvedbearing-surface, substantially as set forth.

2. A trolley consisting of a sliding grooved shoe having the wingsflared laterally withtheir outer edges rounded longitudinally, andhaving also the bottom of the groove arched longitudinally,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

SIDNEY H. SHORT.

Witnesses:

A. B. CALHOUN, JOHN C. DOLPH.

